Chickpea Corn Fritters (baked)

Here we have a traditional recipe with a little bit of a twist. Some might say these corn fritters and not true fritters but I absolutely disagree. So let me explain further where this argument comes from and you can make your own conclusions.     

When we think of fritters we usually have fried batter of a mixture of ingredients drenched in oil. I love the concept of a fritter. You can mix veggies as you please and it is a great way to put into use those last little bits of veggies left in your fridge. But to be honest, as much as I like this idea I usually stay away from it. There's just too much oil involved in the process.

I avoid frying food as much as possible. I don't even like coming up with recipes that require a whole lot of oil. The only oils that I usually use are the ones less harmful to our bodies. My favourites are coconut oil and olive oil. 

Fried food can be delicious but it can also be quite harmful when you eat it on a regular basis. First of all, it is packed with calories, the ones we try to avoid, especially if we are looking to lose weight. Also, it has a high amount of saturated fat. This affects your kidneys and your heart and is the reason behind a lot of diseases.  

With all that said you might think I am stubborn but I still wanted my corn fritters. In order to keep these babies on the healthy side, I made an oil-free corn fritter recipe with chickpeas and carrots, seasoned with chilli flakes, smoked paprika, garlic and garam masala. 

Getting to the oil free part was no easy task. I seriously tried everything I could think of to make it work. There was some trial-and-error but I finally found something I'm happy with. 

While these corn fritters don't really stay in one piece as the fried version does, the taste is amazing. And they are so much healthier than the original recipe. And you really just need one of those spatulas that have a flat surface and no holes to easily lift them up. You don't want to leave a trail of fritters all over the place!

So if you are after a healthy lunch or even dinner option, these corn fritters will be a great option. I served a couple on a plate accompanied by a fresh mint and avocado dip. 

The dip will take you literally 5 minutes to make and the corn fritters about 25-30 minutes from start to finish. So, in less than half an hour you can put together this beautiful meal that is an absolute delight. 

Regardless of what you decide about these corn fritters, fritters or not true fritters what matters is that they are incredibly tasty. Once you have them on your plate drizzled with the avocado and mint dip you'll forget they were ever meant to be fried.